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Erwlancy: Oilwater
Erwlancy: Oilwater
* . I = ..
Oilwater Separation
Allan P. Fischer
ERC/Lancy
St. Paul, M i n n m t a
ERWLANCY
THE LANCY CORRUGATED PLATE SEPARATOR
c 1.0 INTRODUCTION
Nothing Suceeds Like Success. Since its introduction t o the United States by Heil Process
Equipment over ten years ago. the patcntcd Shell Corrugated Plate Interceptor ( C P I ) has
established a n outstanding record of successful performance. Literally thousands of CPI packs are
operating in hundreds ofdownflow Corrugated Plate Separator (CPS) installations. This successful
track record was not interrupted when the CPS was transferred from Heil to E R C / Lancy i n 1978 as
a n internal product line realignment within Dart Industries. Today, the Lancy CPS is stilla leader in
oil/ water separation. That leadership is based on the simplicity and effectiveness of the basic C P S
design.
T h e settling process is one of the oldest techniques known to separate solids from liquids, and
liquids from liquids. Under ideal operating conditions, the gravity typeseparators will remove from
the carrier fluid. all particles that have a rising or settling velocity which is equal t o o r greater than
the overflow rate of the fluid flow through the separator.
Hazen and C a m p developed relationships that apply to the removal of discrete particles in an ideal
settling tank, based o n the premises that the particles entering the tank are uniformly distributed
over the influent cross section and that the particle is considered removed when it hits the bottom of
the tank. T h e settling velocity of a particle which settles through a distance equal t o the effective
depth of the tank in a theoretical detention period can be considered as the overflow rate; V,: and
Hazen suggested the use of trays in the basin i n order to increase the settling surface area. When the
trays are operated in parallel, the flow will be reduced on each tray. The effect of the added trays is
shown in Figure 2. This theory never reached much practical use since it required a means of
continuously removing the sludge from each of the trays and also a means to uniformly distribute
the influent to flow between each of the trays.
Based on the experience gained with the Parallel Plate Interceptor, a more advanced model was
developed, a Corrugated Plate Interceptor (CPI). The basic advantages over the Parallel Plate
Interceptor are the low cost, self-supporting, ease of cleaning and use of corrosion-proof plates. T h e
C P I plates are placed in the basin at a45" angle of inclination which permits the oil to rise along the
lower parts of the plates and reach the surface in large droplets via the peaks of the corrugations and
especially designed oil troughs at the upper edge of the plates. T h e separated sludge descends along
the valleys of the corrugations and is collected in troughs provided at the outlet of the plate pack.
Cut-away views of a C P I pack showing this separation are shown in Figures 3a and 3b.
In the second group, are included wall effects, kinetic and density currents as well as turbulence.
These latter factors can cause short circuiting and dispersion.
Thus, after studying t he literature, the designer of a gravity separator installation will realize t h a t he
is faced with theconstantly varying factors referred toabove. Further, heshould pay attention to the
hydraulic aspect when making a choice between a rectangular or circular shaped tank. I n doing so
he will certainly realize that neither of the two shapes are ideal from a hydraulic point of view.
INCHES/MIN
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Most API (American Petroleum Institute) type basins operate at Reynolds numbers varying from
about 1000 to2500 or even more. It is very difficult to design conventional basins with low Reynolds
numbers. The CPI pack is normally, however, designed to have a Reynolds number of about 100,
and is usually below 400 when handling flows as high as 265 gpm per pack. The comparison of a
Reynolds number versus water temperature for a conventional API oil separator and the CPI plate
pack is illustrated in Figure 5 .
130W]
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) CONVENTIONAL OIL
SEPARATOR
FLOW VELOCITY 2 FT /MIN
3
9
iu
6wj CPI SEPARATOR
FLOWVEL 4'/MIN /
8 ;'N
WATER TEMP F
Density currents result when a liquid containing a great deal of suspended solids is heavier per unit
volume than the same liquid after settling when it contains little or no suspended matter. Thus,
when the cross section of the basin is very large and the water velocity is low, an incoming liquid
havinga higher specificgravity than the liquid in the basin will sink to the bottom and will then flow
on the bottom to the outlet weir, while the surface water may turn backwards. The bottom velocity
may be so high that settling is impossible or will not occur until liquid has passed through the greater
portion of the basin.
This phenomena may be overcome by increasing the velocity so as to obtain a stable flow. One
measure of the stability of the flow is t o refer to the Froude number. The Froude number may be
regarded as the ratio of the kinetic energy t o the weight of a certain definite portion of the liquid.
This ratio should be sufficiently high i n order to produce a stable flow. Variable velocity o r
decreasing velocity reduces the stability of the flow. A good design basis is to always have a Froude
number greater than which has given good results when settling soft coagulated water. T h e CPI
is designed to have such stable flow for all through put over 15 gpm per plate pack.
T o avoid kinetic currents. the kinetic energy in the water from the inlet pipe must be reduced and
distributed uniformly over the cross sectional area. This is important, especially in wide basins or in
basins divided in a number of longitudinal channels. In the CPS design the maximum flow velocity
is limited to less than I foot a second in the inlet channel i n order to have an equal flow distribution
over the inlet weirs. I n addition. a t the head ofeach CPI plate pack are troughs which serve as a flow
distribution baffle. This baffle effect serves to provide ;1 slight back pressure in the 11ow, thus
assuring equal f l o N distribution throughout the face area ot'the CI'I plate pack.
c
4
4.0 CPS DESIGN AND SIZING
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The most difficult variable to determine is the particle size distribution in the influent.
Shown i n Figures 7a and 7 b are typical distributions empirically determined. If the CPI is
selected to remove particles of a certain size, the effluent oil content is a function of the
distribution ofthe particles in the influent and the total oil. For example, if total influent oil
Q
is 1000 p p m and 99% of the oil particles are 60 microns or larger, CPI capacity designed to
remove all oil droplets 60 micron and above will yield an effluent with 10 ppm of oil.
I I I I
7a: TYPICAL PROCESS STREAM
a
39
20
\
CUMULATIVE PERCENT OF OIL
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4.2 Corrugated Plate Separator
a. Basic Designs. The C P I is installed at a 45' angle of inclination in a steel, concrete or
fiberglass reinforced plastic basin to form a Corrugated Plate Separator (CPS). The basin is
equipped with adjustable oil and effluent weirs. A typical steel basin design is illustrated in
Figure 12. The operation of the CPS is explained below. If the influent contains significant
solids, a presettling chamber is recommended such as shown in Figure 13. For flow
containing small particles(down t o 20 microns), coalescing media may be added (Figure 14). 1
b. Operation. The Lancy CPS operates in the downflow mode as shown in Figures 12-14. The
influent flows into a quiescent zone located ahead of the C P I Pack. I n this area the liquids
velocities are slowed so that by the time the liquids reach the CPI they are laminar. The flow is
then downward through the pack. The lighter gravity liquid rises to the peaks of the
corrugations and continues t o rise until reaching the troughs located at the inlet of the pack,
The lighter fluid then rises unimpeded by the main flow s t r e a h to the bucket weir. T h e
heavier liquid flows out the lower portion o f the pack to the effluent trough. I f any solids are
present in the influent, separation also occurs according to Stokes Law. These solids collect
in the valleys of the corrugations and are collected in troughs located at the pack outlet. These
channels direct the solids t o the bottom of the separator basin and assure no reentrainment
with the effluent liquid.
EFFLUENT FROM
WHICH 011 AND
SOLIOS REMOVED
AOJUSIAELE EUCKEI
WATfR LEV,fL 011 WEIR
L f f l U t N l WEIR
tflLUfNI
/I COALESClWG&DlA
ale IIIUNIC loul"
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COMPARIM~NI
AIR
RECYCLE
PUMP
FLOCCULATING &
NEUTRALIZATION
CHEMl CALS
I
SLUDGE
OUTLET
12
5.2 Dissolved Oil
The third form that oil may appear in t h e waste stream is as dissolved oil. Dissolved oil is oil that is
no longer present in droplet size. Short chain hydrocarbons such as Pentanes and Hexanes have
very limited solubility in water while long chain hydrocarbons are practically insoluble. Aromatic
compounds, however, such as Benzene, Toluene and Xylenes as well as Phenols are quite soluble in
water and are generally considered as oil in most analyses. Dissolved oil is difficult and expensive to
remove, therefore, again it should be treated separately from the main body of the waste water.
Similar to emulsified oils, dissolved oils are generally removed by using various chemical aids and
mechanical processes. Some of these oils might even best be removed by a biologically activated
sludge system. The sludge that is carried through would be removed by reverse flow through a
Corrugated Plate Separator such as shown in Figure 16.
_I
1
SLUDGE
RECYCLE
TO D E W A T E R I N G DEVICE,
L A G O O N , OR S E T T L I N G
POND
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6.0 SUMMARY
T h e Lancy Corrugated Plate Separator has proved itself to be a cost-effective, efficient means of
separating oil and other liquids from waste and process streams. The Lancy design effectively
balances the dynamic variables associated with gravity separation and has the flexibility to meet
varied requirements. If special separation problems exist, the CPS can be combined with other
equipment items in a pre-packaged separation system.
13